Thursday, October 31, 2019

Town Council - Recap - Oct 16, 2019

As this was the last meeting for the current Town Council for this term of office, the agenda was juggled around during the meeting to allow Councilor Padula to arrive and participate in a key part of the discussion. 

The key items were around the changes to the current FY 2020 budget. Since the initial approval in June, the State got around to passing their budget which finalized the State aid numbers and in most cases added more to the conservative approach taken.

The Town also got a better read on the New Growth number and decided to take the 'windfall' of approx $900K and put it aside to the Open Space account. This does two things. One increases the open space account approx. $2.1M. This will also allow for some flexibility with the $900K in the FY 2021 budget.

The first serious discussion arose around the additions to the School Budget. The Town Administrator, Finance Committee, and School Committee approved additions finally did pass the Town Council by an 8-0 vote (Padula not present at this time).

The second serious discussion occurred with respect to the proposed assistant Facilities Director. The motion to pass was amended to remove the $110K position, and put the $110K to roads. The motion passed to amend by a 5-4 vote (Yes = Kelly, Dellorco, Pellegri, Jones, McCarthy-Earls; No = Padula, Casey, Hamblen, Mercer).

The final motions to approved the adjusted budget both passed by 9-0 votes

Note: the order of the votes is better followed with my notes or the Franklin TV recording. The "Actions Taken" document records the actual votes correctly but they did not change the sequence of the resolutions as they changed during that night.

In the Town Administrator's Report, I had previously taken out the comments on the old turf stored at Beaver St and shared that audio excerpt.
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/town-administrators-statement-on-old.html

Town Council Actions Taken for October 16, 2019
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-council/files/town-council-actions-taken-october-16-2019 

Live reporting: Town Administrator's report to Closing
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/live-reporting-town-adminsitrators.html

Live reporting: Legislation for Action
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/live-reporting-legislation-for-action.html

Live reporting: Town Council October 16, 2019
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/live-reporting-town-council-october-16.html

Town Council - Recap - Oct 16, 2019
Town Council - Recap - Oct 16, 2019

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